When my husband goes out of town, I often find myself in the kitchen baking away my afternoons. There's something so self-indulgent (in the best possible way) about spending hours making sweet treats just for the joy of it. And these apple hand pies? They were one such solo adventure. Perfectly sized for dipping, I find they're best enjoyed with a salted caramel sauce—the more salt the better, in my opinion!

This recipe is dairy-free, but feel free to substitute the coconut spread with butter, and the coconut milk with heavy cream if that's what you'd prefer. I haven't found a gluten-free pie crust for this recipe that works the way I'd like it to, but if you have suggestions, I'd love to hear!

In a food processor fitted with an "S" blade, combine flour, salt and sugar to start creating your pie crust. Add coconut spread to food processor and pulse until the flour is mixed, when you squeeze the mixture it should stick together. Add 1-2 tablespoons more coconut spread if needed. Add ice water and pulse until dough is sticky enough to form into a ball.

Remove dough and place on a lightly floured surface and use a rolling pin to flatten to 1/4" thickness. Be careful to not over-handle the dough, roll only as much as needed, in one direction, to flatten it. Use a 3.5" biscuit cutter to create 12 circles. Roll each circle a couple of times to further flatten.

Scoop a spoonful of apple mixture onto each dough circle, fold over and press edges with a fork to seal. Cut three small slices in the top of each hand pie. Place pies on baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until crust is golden on the edges. Let cool before serving.

For the sauce:

Prepare coconut milk cream by scooping out the solid cream from the cans and separating from the liquid underneath. Measure out 1 1/2 cups of the solid cream and set aside.

In a large, heavy bottomed sauce pan, combine sugar and 3/4 cup water. Whisk over medium-low heat until sugar is dissolved. Simmer over medium heat until mixture begins to darken to a medium amber color. If available, use a candy thermometer to monitor the temperature until it reaches 350 degrees. Be careful not to burn the sugar, if judging doneness with your eyes err on the side of too light. Add vanilla extract, salt and coconut cream. Be careful, mixture will bubble when you add to it, so stand back!

Use a wooden spoon to combine ingredients and stir the caramel sauce while cooking for an additional 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and carefully pour into serving bowls (or a storage container to save for later) Sprinkle with additional Maldon salt when serving (optional). Store in refrigerator for up to 5 days. Re-heat in a pan over low heat when serving after refrigerated.

Holy cow these look amazing! I make apple hand pies with extra sharp Cabot cheddar in the crust, and the sweet & savory works out great. But... you had to bring in that caramel dipping sauce, so now I have to try that! Thanks for another amazing recipe!

I really, really don't get this gluten-free craze! If you are sensitive to gluten, by all means, you should stay away from it. But...I guess this is the latest "poison" food we should all avoid? Not that much left on the "good for you" list, is there?

EEEEK! I'm so excited this is dairy-free. I have a horrible allergy (not intolerance) to dairy and substitutions to make something dairy-free can sometimes completely screw it up. I'm so excited!!! Guess who is making some apple hand pies this weekend!!!?

Bisbee, I love making things gluten free because I know there are so many people who can't have it. Unfortunately I'm not super good at flour substitutions. But I don't think it's a poison food. Although I hear you about the constant barrage of information about the different foods we eat and how they can be harmful! It can be totally overwhelming. I just try to stick with what makes sense for our family and tune out the rest!